


Snack for the Road

by EaArachnee



Category: Hollow Knight (Video Games)
Genre: Burping, Digestion, Other, Soft Vore, Vore, Weight Gain, just to be clear this is a vore fic, unwilling-to-willing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-19 07:41:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,999
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29747196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EaArachnee/pseuds/EaArachnee
Summary: Quirrel invites the Ghost into the hot spring for a warm soak.
Relationships: The Knight/Quirrel (Hollow Knight)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 17





	Snack for the Road

**Author's Note:**

> "ah it can't take that long to write something out, right? i'll finish this in like 2 or 3 weeks."  
> *2 months later*  
> "oh my god. oh my god. oh my god.

Beastly howls and skittering faded as the Ghost ran towards the sound of flowing water, the heavy air quickly filling with humidity and warmth. Their steps were staggered and their breathing was slow. Deepnest was a treacherous place, and even the best of explorers were shaken here. The Ghost slowed down as they reached their destination: a large cavern filled with steam and water, one of the famed hot springs of Hallownest. They looked at the center where the pool of water was, and saw Quirrel, one of the first and few faces that the Ghost was excited to see. 

Despite sitting down in the pool, he was still a fair bit taller than them. He looked no worse for wear, leaning back in healing waters without a care, the perilous land only mere steps outside of the cavern. His nail and mask were on a bench nearby, though he paid it no mind as he noticed the Ghost. Quirrel gave them a friendly wave, and received one in response.

“Ah, hello there!” Quirrel gestured them closer, “Please, come in! The waters feel more wonderful with a friend around!”

Needing no further encouragement, the Ghost dropped into the healing waters, almost immediately regaining feeling in their body as the water surrounded them. Their body was light enough that it let them float on the water like a piece of shellwood.

“Haha, are you exhausted?” Quirrel mused out loud, “I suppose anyone would be, after coming this far into Deepnest.”

The Ghost basked in the hot spring, enjoying the warmth that they were normally not allowed to have. They slowly paddled their way to Quirrel, and focused the peaceful environment and the sound of his voice as their wounds regenerated.

Quirrel gestured all around him, “Quite the fearsome place, isn’t it? The beasts here are much more ferocious than those above, and the tunnels are as if they’re trying to swallow me whole.” 

hi

“It’s also very fascinating!” He sat upright, gesturing idly, “According to a few records I’ve read from the capital, Deepnest was supposed to be host to a new stag station _and_ a new tram system that would’ve connected it to the capital! There was a lot of controversy surrounding...”

The Ghost was only half-listening to the lecture; it wasn’t that he was boring, but rather that they were more interested in Quirrel himself. Ever since they first met at the Temple of the Black Egg, Quirrel’s always been there wherever the Ghost went: the depths in the Fungal Wastes, the top of Crystal Peaks, the tower to the City of Tears… He’s been there to talk to and guide them around Hallownest. They felt close to him, though they never said a word, not that they could. Quirrel seemed to understand the Ghost, even when they didn’t understand their own existence. They thought about Quirrel, admiring everything about him: his intelligence, his kindness, his apparent strength, his warmth when they say next to him at the bench-

The Ghost stopped their train of thought. They’ve never really explored _why_ they liked Quirrel, just that they simply did. They felt odd being next to him, but they really did love his company. Their thoughts wandered around for only a bit, pondering what Quirrel thought of them. They looked up, and saw that he was still going on.

“-and speaking of, weavers were said to have been able “weave” spells, perhaps not dissimilar to the snail shamans. They’re so radically different in how they act, cast, and focus, yet so alike in the same ways! Oh, how exciting it would’ve been to see those two in their prime,” Quirrel gave a longing sigh, “but enough about that. How have your travels been? Surely you’ve seen something exciting since we last met.”

He looked expectantly at the Ghost, waiting for an answer before realizing his mistake and burst out laughing, “Haha! My apologies, I’ve forgotten that you’re the strong and silent type.”

The Ghost turned their head away, feeling embarrassed that their thoughts were immediately filled with his laughter. It was a pleasantly soft laugh, like one would expect from someone reading a joke in a library. Luckily for them, Quirrel didn’t notice, too busy laughing at his own mistake to see their flushed face. 

“I must admit, it must be nice, being so silent,” he leaned back and sighed, “It does get tiring wondering what to converse about with the very few bugs that aren’t mindless husks down here.”

“With you though, you’ve no choice but to listen to where my thoughts wander!” He let out a chuckle, “But yes, I’ve truly appreciated all of our time together, sitting in silence.”

The Ghost nodded, feeling their heart flutter at his words. They weren’t sure what else to do, besides sitting there together with him. They wanted to do something, anything, to repay him in kind, but their mind came up blank. Soon after, they accepted that there might not be anything to repay him with, and felt disheartened but not discouraged; it would only be a matter of time before they could find something.

Time slowly passed by as the both of them sat around the hot spring in silence, enjoying each other’s company without saying anything. There were no husks to defeat, no Hallownest to explore, no Dreamers to find, nothing to disrupt the peace and quiet of the moment. Nothing could-

Quirrel’s stomach let out a quiet _growl_ , snapping the Ghost out of their trance.

He grabbed at his midsection as a slight tinge of pain hit him, “Ah, apologies for that. There’ve been very few chances for me to relax and eat something substantial,”

“Lucky for you that I’m not a beast of Deepnest,” he joking raised his arms up, “otherwise, I would’ve devoured you whole already!” 

He suddenly perked up, “Oh, that’s another thing! The village here had a tradition where spiders actually offered themselves as _food_ to superior hunters or potential mates! The most offers, of course, went to the royal family of Deepnest: the queen and princess in particular. According to some Hallownest cultural historians, this came to be from a tradition based on or inherited from the beasts of-”

The Ghost let him lecture on and sank into the pool. They were thinking about too many things at once: what they thought of Quirrel, what Quirrel thought of them, how he’d react to their offer… or if he would even accept it. Their heart started to flutter again as they kept repeating this one scenario in their head. They swam closer to Quirrel, too deep in his lecture to notice the Ghost’s movement until they were right by him.

“-so while there isn’t any evidence of a central religion _specifically,_ there does seem to be a cultural reverence of an ancestral bug that- Hmm?”

The Ghost climbed into his lap and stared at him, getting a confused look in response, “Erm, is something the matter? My friend, you’re, er, quite close to me…”

The Ghost smothered their face into his chest, clinging tightly to him. He gasped as the cold body of the Ghost hit him, shivering at the temperature difference between them.

“Ah! Hah, you’re-,” Quirrel glanced down, “You’re quite affectionate! Well - ha! - alright then!”

He put his arms around the Ghost, ignoring his body’s protests against the cold touch. He patted the Ghost on the back of the head, smiling at how they seemed to enjoy it. They rubbed their cheek against his body, and he involuntarily shivered at the gesture.

“I like you too, my friend,” he gave a small laugh, “though, most physical contact with a friend start with handshakes rather than hugs!” 

The Ghost idly nodded, focusing on the calmness of his heart, the rhythm of his lungs, the soft rumbling of his starving stomach… A million thoughts ran through their head again, and each one was about Quirrel. Finally though, the Ghost finally mustered up the courage to move away from the hug and began to pull their mask apart.

Quirrel had no time to react as the Ghost’s mask made a sickening **_crack_ **and split apart, revealing a pitch-black copy of their body underneath. Even with the heat radiating from the hot spring, Quirrel felt the temperature drop as the Shade flew out of its former body. He tried to speak, act, or think, but nothing came to mind except for instinctive terror of the thing floating above the pool.

He began to scramble out of the pool before he stopped himself, looking at the Shade with more curiosity than fear. His instincts screamed to run or fight, but his need for answers muted them. He sat at the edge of the pool, marveling at the Shade with caution.

Quirrel started to say something, but stopped, instead reaching out his hand to them. Pieces of his broken memory came back to him; the Archives, the King’s plan, Monomon… He even recalled seeing a glimpse of the King’s champion, one so similar to his friend. Could it really be…?

He almost touched one of the tendrils floating below them before it suddenly whipped and wrapped itself around his arm. He tried to jump back to get away, but more shot out from under the Shade, all of them tying his limbs together. They let out a small chirp, apparently entertained at the situation.

“Wait! Stop! What are you doing!?” Even though his bindings were sudden, they weren’t uncomfortable, but still tight enough that he couldn’t move as well as he wanted. 

Rather than answer Quirrel’s question, the Shade hovered down to him, and bumped their forehead against his. He gave a confused “huh?” before the Shade unceremoniously shoved their head into his mouth. 

Their shape had transformed into a long, narrow tube of void, and Quirrel could do little as the viscous body wormed its way down his throat, bulging it out in a way that made it seem like he was chugging a massive amount of liquid.

An overwhelming sweet and metallic flavor took over his tongue, and he could feel every movement the Shade took down his gullet. Each involuntary swallow was like he had eaten too much, and could only keep swallowing or else he would choke. His chest felt like it was about to burst at the sudden, freezing intrusion, but the feeling was quickly replaced with an oddly warm sensation. When the Shade finally hit the bottom of his stomach, Quirrel let out an involuntary moan, blushing at how he tingled at the unfamiliar but wonderful feeling.

Quirrel’s body was already compliant in accepting the willing meal, despite his previous protests. His jaw was relaxed to let in as much of the Shade in as possible, his throat eagerly gulped them down, and his gut happily grumbled as it steadily filled up. Every thought in his head was begging for more, but Quirrel still instinctively struggled against the tendrils; he wanted to get away, but at the same time, he wanted to lose himself in the oddly enjoyable experience. Tears welled up in his eyes as he choked on the sheer amount of void in his mouth, unable to take a breather with the constant barrage on his gullet, though his body didn’t mind, as long as more would fill him up.

The last of the Shade’s body finally disappeared into Quirrel as their tendrils unbinded his limbs and followed suit with a _sluurp_. He coughed and gasped for air, breathing deeply as he tried to comprehend what just happened. He tried to stand up, but his legs wouldn’t listen, leaving him stuck sitting down in the pool. 

Quirrel’s enlarged gut had become more of a gelatinous orb than anything, swaying with the slightest motion he made. If he had to guess, it was more than thrice its previous size. The gurgling and grumbling it made seemed to overpower every other sound in the hot spring, even his own thoughts. He delicately prodded at it with a few fingers, and managed to sink nearly his entire hand in.

“Ha… wow, you’re really,” Quirrel winced as the Shade pushed at his stomach walls, “enjoying yourself, my friend!”

He kneaded at his dough-like stomach, softly giggling to himself at how it wobbled, “I must admit, that was - ha! - incredibly fun!” A giddy smile took over his face as he could feel the Shade rubbing at his stomach walls, feeling like he ate the food of the gods.

Down in his gut, a vigorous push from the Shade caused Quirrel to quietly moan at how it felt, while another caused him to feel some unpleasant pressure in his lower chest. He almost dismissed it as getting used to the Shade being in there, but it climbed up with every movement the Shade made. He sat upright, wondering what it was before he let out a loud **_buuurp_ ** that echoed throughout the cavern.

He immediately covered his mouth in embarrassment, “A-ah… Excuse me, that was-” His apology was interrupted by a _gworrrgle_ from his stomach, followed by a _hwoorp_ from his mouth, “...erm, inappropriate of me.”

He sheepishly chuckled, feeling his cheeks burn at the humiliating moment, before sighing in exhaustion. Now that the excitement of the new experience wore off, he realized just how drained he felt, like he hadn’t slept in days. He climbed out of the pool with weak arms, legs shaking but thankfully working.

Quirrel made his way towards the nearby bench, moving slowly as to avoid overexerting himself. A _buuorp_ escaped from him as he sat down on it, but he didn’t pay his manners much mind. He felt as if he had spent countless hours running and eating at the same time, and couldn’t manage another second of staying awake.

“Mmm… Good night… my friend…” Quirrel mumbled as he laid down, knocked out as soon as his head hit the bench.

Snores were soon mixed in with the ambience of the hot spring, both drowning out the gurgling that came from Quirrel’s gut. Even while unconscious, he could feel his stomach move with the Shade in sync. Drool dripped from his mouth as he remembered the taste of sweet void in his mouth, unable to get rid of the addictive flavor. 

He was too deep in his slumber to realize that his occupant’s movements were slowing down, or that his gut was steadily shrinking in size. Eventually, the thumping stopped as the glorping gut grew louder, pumping the thick soup of chyme into his intestines to be absorbed as nutrients and calories. 

In his dream, Quirrel was sitting together with the Ghost again.

\---

Quirrel rose up from the bench in a groggy state. Everything was a blur and hard to grasp for a moment. Even so, he could still vividly remember what happened, and a smile crept across his face. He stretched and let out a _yaaw-uurp_ , idly rubbing his stomach. He heard it growl and felt hunger; odd, considering that he had just eaten a very large meal. Looking down at it to check on the Shade, all he saw was a notably shrunken paunch and his newly enlarged thighs. 

“Ah.”

He awkwardly poked at his middle, “My friend? Are you still there?” 

Getting only another _bwwelch_ in response, Quirrel scratched the back of his head nonchalantly, “I, er... suppose not. I at least hope that it was a wonderful experience for you too, even if, uh… this,” he grabbed at some fat, “is now what you are. Still, quite an impressive look for you, is it not?”

He pondered if he should’ve felt more regret for what he let happened, but a part of his mind was glad that it did. It was a very intimate conclusion to one of the few, if momentarily terrifying, moments between him and the Ghost, and the last thing Quirrel wanted to do was be unappreciative of what they obviously wanted. Even better, they would now be with him every wobbling step of his journey.

He picked up his belongings, and took a moment to observe at how his body had changed from only a single meal: Quirrel’s arms had a slight flab to them, his once-bloated abdomen swayed as he moved his body around, and his thighs grew massively to help support hips that he swore would catch on doorways. Though he was certain he could swing his nail with only a little more effort, he knew his agility had to have been affected. An unfortunate consequence of such an intimate moment. 

Quirrel sighed, annoyed at his newfound weight, “A moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips indeed…”

He was preparing to leave when he heard an oddly familiar _pitter-patter_ of footsteps approaching the hot spring. He looked at the entrance and, in spite of evidence to the contrary, there stood the Ghost, looking flushed but no worse for wear. Quirrel could feel his heart jump at the sight; all of his questions could wait until after this moment. 

“Hello again, my friend!” He ran over to the Ghost and scooped them up into a tight hug. 

Quirrel marveled over their body, eyes bright with wonder, “This is incredible! I’ve heard of something like you before, but seeing it in person is-”

A growl from his stomach interrupted whatever he was about to say. He abashedly let out a chuckle, “Ah ha… you would think that my hunger would be well-satisfied looking at me, but it feels that it’s only intensified it. Now, we should be near the heart of Deepnest, and thus the village. If we can find it then we-”

Even though he was still hugging them, Quirrel hadn’t noticed the Ghost’s captivated expression as they heard his stomach growl again, or that they had subtly moved their arms from his back to their horns.

“-of course, there are no records of stag stations ever reaching this far down and- Huh? Wait, are you-”

**_CRACK_**

**Author's Note:**

> i'll be honest, i absolutely should not have started with writing out vore, this is too much fun to write about anything else

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [A Charming Incident](https://archiveofourown.org/works/29775927) by [bpacc437](https://archiveofourown.org/users/bpacc437/pseuds/bpacc437)




End file.
